Thursday, July 31, 2008

Vintage Croton Equator

Now that I've exhausted my current supply of G-Shocks, I'm moving on to every other kind of watch I have, including vintage, like today's. I'm wearing a Croton "Equator" Swiss manual wind probably from the '50s or early '60s. It's actually quite attractive, with a linen-textured dial and stylized applied numerals. I think it's interesting that the numbers all taper toward the inside of the dial, so the numebrs at the top of the dial are all narrower at the bottom, while the 4, 5, 7 and 8 all are narrower at the top. I suppose it's a small thing, but it makes for a pleasing look. The stainless steel case and back are plain but in good condition. I've fitted a new period-looking lizard skin strap that seems to coordinate well. My major complaint with this watch is the size. It's less than 29mm across (about 1 1/8 inches) which I find quite small even for a vintage watch. It's quite possible this was a "boy's size" or midsize watch. I assume the Equator name was chosen because the watch is "waterproof" (although no mention of any rating) and would be suitable to wear in wet and humid equatorial weather. I was surprised to find that Croton still makes a line of watches under the Equator name, although they're definitely fancier than this one. This is another watch that my dad bought at some point either on eBay or at an antique store. I have no idea if it's been serviced, but I've been wearing it all day and it's keeping very good time.